MP3 Chris Opperman - Klavierstücke

Lurking somewhere in the middle of Frank Zappa, Claude Debussy, Thelonious Monk, and scads of 20th Century classical music lies the singular sound of this striking young pianist and composer.

18 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, POP: Piano



Details:
On his sophomore release Klavierstücke, Chris Opperman delivers an equally stunning and inviting collection of solo piano recordings that run from gentle introspection to unfettered virtuosity and all points between - 18 new compositions that simultaneously challenge, disarm, and embrace the listener while shattering any preconceptions of how a piano record should sound or feel.

"These days it's rare to hear a person squeeze the most out of the performance potential of a non-electronic instrument. On this record, Chris explores harmony, melody and virtuosity on the piano with a lofty and magnificent insight." -- Steve Vai

From The All-Music Guide:

"Klavierstücke is an album of solo piano pieces by Chris Opperman, and much of the talent he showed signs of on Oppy Music, Vol. 1 is on full display here. The pieces are beautiful and sensitive, and the playing is strong and assured. Opperman really seems to have found his own style, which is truly a synthesis of his main influences (Satie, Stravinsky, Webern, Zappa) rather than emulation. The pieces occupy a music space somewhere between jazz and classical, like Frank Zappa meets Erik Satie, or Bill Evans crossed with Anton Webern. Most pieces are completely composed; some were written as early as high school. Others are improvised (some overdubbed, à la Conversations With Myself), but the line between improvised and composed never sounds that cut and dry (you'd be hard-pressed to determine that "Injun Joe" was improvised). Overall, a sense of calm and beauty pervades this album, even when the playing gets a little more intense. Despite the fact that some of these pieces were written at the same time as some of the material on his first album (and some from even before then), the difference between the albums couldn't be more striking. In many respects, Klavierstücke is light years away from Oppy Music, Vol. 1, yet they are clearly from the same mind. This is the mature work of a very talented young composer. Highly recommended." - Sean Westergaard (4/12 stars out of 5)

Outsight in Australia says:

Sophisticated rock guitarist Mike Keneally, producer of this album, characterized Opperman as "one of the most uncompromising composers currently working." Indeed, the solo piano pieces on this sophomore release from the 22-year-old suggest a virtuosity and creative brilliance beyond his years.

These are compositions of both gentle, scintillating beauty and personal, cinematic episodes of atmospheric elegance.

(5/5)